Intec Project

The coordinator's dilemma

You're a pedagogical coordinator. Two of your teachers need to develop stronger family engagement skills. One needs to grow into more of a leadership role. Where do you send them?
Most CPD systems don't give coordinators a clear way to match a professional's development need to the right training opportunity. It's often guesswork, or whatever course happens to have a spot open.
A structured competence framework, one that maps concrete needs to concrete activities, solves exactly this problem.

https://www.intec-project.eu/products/inservice-training-package-for-ecec-staff/

What does a "European" ECEC professional identity even mean?

ECEC professionals across Europe operate in very different systems: different regulations, different funding models, different cultural expectations of what childhood should look like.
And yet, when practitioners from five countries compared notes, the overlap in values was striking: children as active participants, not passive recipients; inclusion as a daily practice, not a policy statement; families as partners, not visitors.
Building on that common ground, while respecting local differences, is at the heart of a transnational approach to CPD.
👉 https://www.intec-project.eu/products/curriculum/

Sustainability isn't an add on anymore
Environmental sustainability, digital literacy, inclusion, ECEC professionals told us clearly these are no longer "extra" topics bolted onto training. They're now part of the daily work of running a centre.
The challenge is that most CPD offers still treat them as separate, optional modules rather than integrating them into how staff think about pedagogy day to day.
👉https://www.intec-project.eu/products/training-courses/social-and-green-sustainability/

💪 Leadership that isn't a job title...

In early childhood education, leadership isn't only about the person with "coordinator" in their title. It's distributed: every practitioner who mentors a colleague, models good practice, or pushes the team to reflect is exercising leadership.
The challenge for municipalities and ECEC providers is how to train for this, how do you build a learning culture across a whole team, not just develop one person at the top?
👉 https://www.intec-project.eu/products/winter-school/

Observation as a skill, not a soft skill

"I know how to teach, but do I know how to see what a child is really doing?"
Observation, real, structured observation of children's learning, is one of the core competences ECEC professionals across Europe say they want to strengthen. Not casual watching, but the ability to link a child's curiosity to a concrete activity, document it, and adapt practice from it.
It's also one of the hardest things to learn from a manual. You learn it by watching someone else do it well, ideally in a completely different context than your own.
👉https://www.intec-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TITC-Pathways-and-Job-shadowing.pdf

Family participation, beyond the parents' meeting.

Family engagement is consistently ranked as one of the strongest predictors of quality in early childhood settings. And yet, in most centres, it's still reduced to a termly meeting and a WhatsApp group.
Building real partnership with families, across different cultures, languages and expectations, takes more than good intentions. It takes a systematic approach embedded in daily routines, not just special occasions.
What does "family participation" actually look like when it works?
👉 https://www.intec-project.eu/products/training-courses/the-school-families-relationship-and-family-participation/

The fragmentation problem
Ask any ECEC professional in Europe how they plan their professional development, and you'll often hear the same thing: it's a patchwork. A course here, a workshop there, rarely connected to what came before.
Across five EU countries, our INTEC research found no shared curriculum for in service training of ECEC staff, just a mix of local guidelines and one off opportunities. Erasmus+ accreditation is opening doors to mobility funding for more and more municipalities, but accreditation alone doesn't answer the practical question: where do you actually send your staff, and why?
This is the gap we've spent three years working on. More soon. 🧵
👉https://www.intec-project.eu/products/curriculum/

🌍 Multiplier Event of the INTEC Project in Brussels, Belgium

On 25 June 2026, EhB - Erasmushogeschool Brussel– Erasmus Brussels University of Applied Sciences and Arts hosted the INTEC Multiplier Event at Campus Kanal, bringing together ECEC professionals to explore innovative approaches to continuous professional development across Europe.

During the seminar, participants discovered the main outcomes of the INTEC – Developing an Innovative In-Service Training Model for ECEC Staff project, including the Transnational In-Service Training Curriculum (TITC) and its innovative framework for lifelong learning in Early Childhood Education and Care.

The event highlighted:
✨ The principles and values underpinning the TITC, including children's rights, inclusion, holistic education, communities of practice, and situated learning.
✨ Five innovative training courses covering:
• Internationalisation of Preschool Activities
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Social and Green Sustainability
• STEAM – MuMaBot: Exploring Disciplinary Intersections
• School–Families Relationships and Family Participation
✨ The Intensive Training Week (Winter School) held in Brussels.
✨ Flexible Learning Pathways combined with job shadowing opportunities to support educators' professional growth.

The interactive seminar also encouraged participants to reflect on the importance of internationalisation in ECEC and the value of European collaboration, experience sharing, and continuous professional learning.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to the inspiring discussions. Together, we are building stronger learning communities and shaping the future of early childhood education across Europe. 🌱🇪🇺

🌍 A European Curriculum for In-Service Training of ECEC Staff 👶📚
The INTEC project presents the first in-service training curriculum model with a truly transnational European approach, developed through dialogue, discussion, and the exchange of best practices among partner countries — a shared and collaborative effort that goes beyond national borders.

The curriculum is built on shared values:

✨ The fundamental social value of early childhood services
✨ Respect for the rights of every child
✨ Play and multiple forms of expression as essential learning experiences
✨ Inclusion, valuing each individual, and respect for others
✨ Building communities of practice among teachers and networks

The methodology is anchored in real teaching practice, action-research models, time-distributed formats, and a person- and group-centred approach — with reflection and self-assessment at its core.

📥 Download the curriculum in multiple languages (EN, NL, CA, ES, LV, SE,IT) on our website!
🔗 www.intec-project.eu/products/curriculum

Funded by the European Union.

💡Intec Project Steering Group Meeting Successfully Held in Vänersborg, Sweden 🇸🇪

From 15–17 June 2026, partners of the INTEC Erasmus+ Project gathered in Vänersborg, Sweden, for the Steering Group Meeting hosted by the Municipality of Vänersborg.
Over three productive days, project partners reviewed the progress achieved so far, discussed dissemination activities, evaluated sustainability plans, and monitored key quality and result indicators. The meeting also provided an opportunity to align on financial reporting, define shared responsibilities, and plan the final stages of the project.

🤝 The event strengthened collaboration among partners and reinforced our shared commitment to delivering meaningful outcomes and lasting impact through the INTEC project.

A sincere thank you to our Swedish hosts and all participating partners for their valuable contributions, dedication, and teamwork. 🙏

Vänersborgs kommun RTU Liepāja EhB - Erasmushogeschool Brussel UVic Fondazione Bambini Bicocca